Specialized Roubaix Elite

niblue

Just added this to the fleet, after swapping it for one of my spare mountain bikes:



Frame is a Specialized Roubaix Elite (looks like it might be a 2009) with a fairly basic build (18 speed Tiagra with a compact chainset and 11:25 cassette) - weighs a little under 20lbs with the pedals fitted. Haven't done anything to it yet other than switch the saddle and seatpost for one of my own. I've done a couple of rides on it and it does seem very comfortable.

I haven't quite decided how I'm going to build it up yet, especially given I've already got a 2010 Boardman Team Carbon. One thought is to swap the SRAM Rival drivetrain and Ritchey wheels from the Boardman to this, and then use the Boardman as a more basic winter bike.

carrock

niblue wrote:

Just added this to the fleet, after swapping it for one of my spare mountain bikes:



Frame is a Specialized Roubaix Elite (looks like it might be a 2009) with a fairly basic build (18 speed Tiagra with a compact chainset and 11:25 cassette) - weighs a little under 20lbs with the pedals fitted. Haven't done anything to it yet other than switch the saddle and seatpost for one of my own. I've done a couple of rides on it and it does seem very comfortable.

I haven't quite decided how I'm going to build it up yet, especially given I've already got a 2010 Boardman Team Carbon. One thought is to swap the SRAM Rival drivetrain and Ritchey wheels from the Boardman to this, and then use the Boardman as a more basic winter bike.

yes its 2009 frame. should have 105 group not tiagra though?

wheels are mavic cxp22s and are very heavy.

niblue

The bike was built up by the chap I swapped it with and doesn't have many of the original bits on it, including the wheels.

Having ridden it a fair bit now I'm considering selling the Boardman and using the proceeds to spec the Roubaix up.

speshsteve

that stem is far from standard too!

I've the same bike but with standard 105 and I've changed the wheels to rs80's and have to say I'm really happy with it from both a ride and performance perspective.

How do you find the boardman in comparison, the boardman specs wise look great.

rozzer32

Jeez what is going on with that cable??

Old Tuggo

I t just does not look right with the saddle poniting down, the sticking up stem and the large loop of cable. Fix these and you have a gud un.

luv2ride

I've got the 2010 model and swapped the SRAM Rival over from my Boardman Road Team. Love it. Kind of miss the SRAM on the Boardman now (use it as my turbo trainer / iffy weather bike). Very tempted by the SRAM Apex groupset on sale at Merlin - £340 for everything bar cables?!

niblue

The bike was built up by a chap who works at a Specialized dealer but it definitely needs a few tweaks, including the cables and the way the bar-tape has been put on. The saddle & seatpost were just whipped off one of my mountain bikes and hadn't been adjusted, hence the off saddle angle.

I've done some miles on the bike now and have enjoyed it, although I've now ditched the idea of switching the SRAM Rival stuff over from the Boardman as I find I actually prefer the Shimano shifting. Rival works fine but I don't find the double-tap particularily intuitive and it's a bit clunky by comparison.

I haven't ridden the bikes back-to-back to get a good comparison yet, however on the scales the Boardman is a 1lb lighter at the moment. The Boardman does ride well and is surprisingly comfortable, so I'm still undecided on what to do. One option would be to sell the Boardman and use the cash to update the wheels and drivetrain on the Roubaix, but I also might just keep it as a winter bike.

One thing I have decided that it needs is an 11:28 cassette (which is also what I have on the Boardman) to replace the 11:25.

niblue

Still got the old Roubaix and, now that I'm mostly based on the London/Essex border, have been using it a lot the last few months as I'm doing more road than mountain biking:

Finally got around to putting it back to a decent spec as well - I managed to get the right Specialized seatpost, bars and stem and also replaced the old 9-speed part road/part MTB set-up with mostly 10-speed 105 barring a Dura-ace cassette and an Ultegra fromt mech. Most of the weight savings are down to a change of wheels though - Shimano RS81 C24's. Weight is now 8.2kg with pedals and cages etc. which I think is reasonable for a Roubaix.

I was thinking about replacing it was a new Roubaix but I still find this one very comfortable and fast enough for me.